Canada Day 2014 Launches our New Canuck Anti-Spam Law!

Yes, you read that right…on July 1, 2014, the new Canadian Anti-Spam Law comes into effect and that looks like a great idea…or is it?

I mean we all get spam, right? If it’s not the ‘enlarging of body parts’ to ‘solar power’ to ‘flower delivery’ to ‘cougar dating’ to ‘blood pressure solutions’ to ‘vydox for females’ to ‘anti-aging secrets’ to ‘auto protection’ to ‘insurance quotes’ — just about anything and everything else, we all get dunned with this river of spam. Why you might ask?

Well we’ve always thought that if you send out something say like 10,000,000 spam emails you might get one idiot who’d ‘buy’ your wares…and while my numbers might be off somewhat, the simple fact is that yes, there must be an ROI for spammers that keeps them sending out their spam.

Did I ever buy same? Yes a couple of times way back in the mid 1990’s…but not since. I do keep (as all hosts must) one totally unprotected email addy out there and it regularily gets like 700+ spams a day. I scroll the titles and then just purge the folder…but from what I see, spam will be with us forever.

So…is this law of any real value? In my mind, no. It does offer a mode of ‘protection’ to the Canadian population…but suing someone who lives out of the country and is hidden behind TOR or any other such proxy service is a waste of money…the DELETE button is so much easier.

So, the law? Well, first, the law itself was formulated and went thru much modification and tempering way back to 2010…and what has resulted in the “final” set of regulations does come into force this Canada Day. Here’s how our government stated the various items for consideration…

“When the new law is in force, it will generally prohibit the:

sending of commercial electronic messages without the recipient’s consent (permission), including messages to email addresses and social networking accounts, and text messages sent to a cell phone;

alteration of transmission data in an electronic message which results in the message being delivered to a different destination without express consent;

installation of computer programs without the express consent of the owner of the computer system or its agent, such as an authorized employee;

use of false or misleading representations online in the promotion of products or services;

collection of personal information through accessing a computer system in violation of federal law (e.g. the Criminal Code of Canada); and

collection of electronic addresses by the use of computer programs or the use of such addresses, without permission (address harvesting).

There are three government agencies responsible for enforcement of the law. When the new law is in force, it will allow:

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to issue administrative monetary penalties for violations of the new anti-spam law.

The Competition Bureau to seek administrative monetary penalties or criminal sanctions under the Competition Act.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner to exercise new powers under an amended Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

It will also allow all three agencies to share information with the government of a foreign state if the information is relevant to an investigation or proceeding in respect of a contravention of the laws of a foreign state that is substantially similar to the conduct prohibited by this Canadian law.

The law will also allow individuals and organizations who are affected by an act or omission that is in contravention of the law to bring a private right of action in court against individuals and organizations whom they allege have violated the law. Once into force, the private right of action will allow an applicant to seek actual and statutory damages. Statutory damages may not be pursued if the person or organization against whom the contravention is alleged has entered into an undertaking or has been served with a Notice of Violation.

Before filing a lawsuit against an individual or organization, get legal advice. An individual or organization could be responsible for paying considerable legal fees incurred by the alleged violator if they file an improper claim or one that is not considered to have merit…”

As you can see, it appears to be a shot at curbing the river of spam….but IMHO, isn’t really worth much…note the final paragraph warns anyone who contemplates suing a spammer that if they make an ‘error’ you will be saddled with the spammer’s legal fees which is another way of saying support your local law firms, sigh…

Lastly, the government nicely included a Spam Quiz too, for you to go and look at the questions, answer…and then see how you did either as an Individual who receives emails or as a Company sending out same….took it myownself too…5 simple questions that we ALL should be able to answer correctly…give it a try won’t you! Wont stop the spam but may help to prevent any new scam spams at least…

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Yes, you read that right…on July 1, 2014, the new Canadian Anti-Spam Law comes into effect and that looks like a great idea…or is it? I mean we all get spam, right? If it’s not the ‘enlarging of body parts’ to ‘solar power’ to ‘flower delivery’ to ‘cou…

Yes, you read that right…on July 1, 2014, the new Canadian Anti-Spam Law comes into effect and that looks like a great idea…or is it? I mean we all get spam, right? If it’s not the ‘enlarging of body parts’ to ‘solar power’ to ‘flower delivery’ to ‘cou…